---
category: Iran-Contra
summary: Jacinto Torres was one of the Nicaraguan Torres brothers who managed the
  East Los Angeles cocaine distribution hub for Danilo Blandón's trafficking network.
tags:
- person
- nicaraguan
- contra-war
---

Jacinto Torres was one of the Nicaraguan Torres brothers who managed the East [Los Angeles](/places/los-angeles/) [cocaine](/concepts/cocaine/) distribution hub for [Danilo Blandón](/people/danilo-blandon/)'s trafficking network. Along with his brother [Edgar](/people/edgar-torres/), Jacinto handled the distribution operations that moved Blandón's cocaine to street-level dealers.[^1]

### The Torres Brothers Network

Jacinto Torres told the [Federal Bureau of Investigation](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) that [Meneses](/people/norwin-meneses/) was "routinely flying quantities of 200 to 400 kilograms from [Miami](/places/miami/) to the West Coast" to supply Blandón's booming business. The Torres brothers were among the first to cooperate with law enforcement, providing LAPD detective Jerry Guzzetta with detailed information about Blandón's operations, the [Contra](/organizations/contras/) connection, and the airfields in [New Orleans](/places/new-orleans/) and [Texas](/places/texas/) where Contra cocaine was allegedly being flown in. Their cooperation formed the foundation of [Project Sahara](/programs/project-sahara/), the investigation that nearly exposed the Contra-drug connection before being shut down.[^2]

[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 7.
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 7, Ch. 17.